Alibaba income beats estimates amid "strong business momentum"

Investing.com -- Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) has posted first-quarter adjusted core income that topped analyst estimates, as the Chinese e-commerce giant was boosted by strong consumer spending during a major shopping event in China in June.

Recent economic data, including numbers earlier this week showing a contraction in consumer prices, have sparked concerns over a sluggish post-pandemic recovery in China, the world's second-largest economy.

But combined revenues at Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall retail platforms still grew by 12% in the June quarter to 114.95 billion yuan (1 yuan = $0.1387), fueled by increased purchasing activity during the 618 shopping festival.

Group-wide adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization climbed by 27% compared to the corresponding three-month period last year to 52.05 billion yuan, above expectations of 44.77B yuan.

Meanwhile, Alibaba's cloud division rose to 25.12B yuan thanks in part to demand for its artificial intelligence computing products, in the latest sign of surging interest in the nascent technology.

“Due to the strong business momentum and our focus on operating efficiency across businesses, we achieved robust financial performance in the past quarter," said Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu in a statement.

U.S.-listed shares in Alibaba climbed by more than 3% in premarket U.S. trading Thursday.